Page 27 of Stitch & Steel
Further out. Beyond the fence. Too far.
I pushed through the brush and stumbled into the edge of the woods, heart pounding. “Scout! Come!”
Another bark. Closer. Followed by a man’s voice.
“Easy, buddy... you’re friendly, huh?”
I stopped cold.
There he was.
A man crouched in the brush, petting Scout like they were long-lost friends. Scout was wagging his tail, obviously happy as a clam. But me? My blood froze.
He looked... normal. Kind of. Mid-thirties. Clean-shaven, but something about him made my skin crawl. His eyes were too flat. His smile didn’t reach them. And the tattoos curling over the tips of his fingers, creeping up his forearms under rolled plaid sleeves, sent every alarm bell in my head ringing.
“Sorry,” he said, standing slowly and raising his hands like I was the threat. “Didn’t mean to scare you. Just saw your dog. Thought he was lost.”
“He’s not,” I snapped. “You’re on private property.”
He tilted his head, still smiling. “Just walking. Didn’t realize,Bella.”
Bullshit.
“Scout,come,” I said sharply, suddenly terrified.
This time, the dog obeyed. Trotted over to me, sensing my shift in energy. He leaned into my leg like a living shield, low growl rumbling in his chest now.
The man’s smile slipped. And that was enough.
“BELLA!” Logan’s voice boomed from the yard. “WHERE ARE YOU?”
The man flinched, pulled out a gun pointed it at Scout’s head. “No!” I screamed covering my dog, not even thinking abut myself. The man’s hand covered my mouth, I felt his breath at my ear. “That was stupid, girl.”
Scout was going crazy I couldn’t hold him back much longer. He nipped the man’s leg and I was let go.
And then he ran.
I stood frozen, breathing hard, Scout pressed against me like a guard tower.
“BELLA!” Logan’s voice was closer now, crashing through brush. And then he appeared, axe still in hand, eyes blazing.
“What happened?” he barked, gaze raking over me.
“There was a man,” I said, pointing. “He was petting Scout. In the woods. Then he turned a gun on us.”
Logan didn’t ask anything else. He took off in the direction the man had fled, Bullet crashing through behind him with Bear not far off.
I didn’t know who that man was. Or why he was so close.
But I knew now what Logan meant when he said we were a sitting duck.
Because peace like we’ve had?
It never lasts forever.
I crouched down, wrapping my arms around Scout’s thick neck, who still growled low in his throat.
This wasn’t just a random trespasser.
